Usa Community Hospital Ethical Issues

One of the main ethical issues that faces health care is the security of patient information. This information is protected by laws and regulations such as HIPPA, but there are still concerns Scott, et al, 2005). Among those concerns is the new concept of electronic patient records and information. These records are designed to help hospitals and doctors get patient information more quickly, so that patients can receive treatment as soon as possible. Unfortunately, anything kept and transmitted on a computer has the potential to be hacked, so that is a serious concern for patients. Not all patients want their medical records to be available electronically, but they may not have too many options (Romano & Stafford, 2010). Opting out may not be an option for them, and if they do have that option it could reduce the speed and quality of treatment that these patients would receive. Do they want to risk that, just so they can feel as though their medical information is better protected?

According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, the Affordable care Act from President Obama gives consumers more options and benefits when seeking coverage from insurance company. It offers lowering cost as well as gets more access to high quality of care. This law creates Patient’s Bill of Rights that is very effective to protect consumers from any abuses or fraud from insurance company. Some preventive services are available to many Americans especially Medicare recipients at no cost. Not just that, they also receive a special offer of 50 percent discount for any well-known drugs in the market place under Medicare named “donut hole.” The Affordable Care Act helps other organizations and programs to convince healthcare providers

AIDS is no longer thought of as a death sentence as long as the recipient receives an early diagnosis. The awareness brought about by the life of Ryan White eventually lead to the development of lifesaving treatments for HIV/AIDS patients (John 6). Even after White passed away, his legacy lived on. Four short months after his death, Congress passed the AIDS bill that bears his name - the Ryan White Care Act. This act, to this day, is the United States's largest government funded program to support people with AIDS. As more and more people have contracted AIDS, the funding for the program has increased. The Act works with cities, states, and community-based organizations to provide some level of HIV treatment (Decker 7-8). Although it does not help every single person living with AIDS in the United States, the Ryan White Care Act reaches out to more than one half million people annually. About 50% of all people living with HIV in the United States are touched by the Ryan White Care Act in some way or

I feel that an individual should have a foundation in ethics in relation to health care. It is important because the community puts their trust into health care organizations and professionals. According to Flite and Harman (2013), an organization must have a code of ethics in order to maintain the community’s trust.

In the late summer of August 2005 the Gulf Coast was preparing for a hurricane that no one ever imagined would be such a detriment to the beloved town of New Orleans, LA. Hurricane Katrina was a category five hurricane, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. On August 29, 2005 Katrina made land fall as a category three hurricane with wind speeds around one hundred and forty miles per hour. Evacuation efforts in the state of Louisiana were non-existent for many families including the local hospitals and nursing homes. The hospitals became shelters for the surrounding nursing home facilities, current patients, the staff, families of the staff, and even pets. One of the most unethical debates from this disaster occurred in a local hospital where patients were given lethal doses of drugs and euthanized by Dr. Anna Pou. The conditions at Memorial Hospital were anything but ideal, but no person is obligated to decide who survives and who perishes.

For my Clinical experience, I was referred to one of community clinics run by nurse practitioners - yes, NPs- in Suffolk County in Long Island by my coworker. It is called “Nightingale Preventative Care.” I am working in the ER and at first, I thought this clinic would be a type of urgent care office which is a similar setting to the ER. I was totally wrong. For the past two weeks, this place has surprised me many ways and I learned about what the community clinic is alike to its neighbors. Patients can be seen by NPs by the appointment. However, it is located inside of K-mart and has many walk-in patients as well. Many patients who come to visit for their check-up have no medical insurance. Every Wednesday, a representative from Fidelis Care insurance company comes and provides information about Medicaid and Medicare service the company has. I really like to sit down with patients and assess about their medical histories and family histories which I cannot do often in the ER. I had a patient who was Hepatitis A Ab, Total positive Abnormal first day I work at the clinic. He didn’t understand what the test result meant and neither did I. I printed out an article from National Library of Medicine and went over with him. Patient’s education in the ER rarely happens from nurses. I felt great to listen what patients tried to lose their weight or quit smoking. I like to continue on developing skills on patient’s education and preventative care measure for patients.

We denied the medical service listed above because: We received your request for admission to an acute care facility and have reviewed the medical records; the information does not show a need for the acute level of care. You are an 84 year old female who is status post cardiac arrest (condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating) with hypoxic (a condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply) brain injury. You have a Do Not Resuscitate order documented. You have a life expectancy of less than 60 days. You are undergoing comfort care. You can be managed in a lower level of care. For all these reasons the admission is not medically necessary. The request for admission to Calvary

According to Provision 8 of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics, “The nurse collaborates with other health professionals and the public to protect human rights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities.” (American Nurses Association, n.d.). Therefore, nurses and other healthcare workers must set aside any preconceived notions about a populace in order to provide equal care amongst all populations. This includes patients who are HIV positive. Nurses and healthcare workers must ignore the stigma surrounding the disease and communicate effectively with these patients in order to assure prompt, compassionate treatment.

Ethics are a set of moral principles that serve as a guiding philosophy for behavior. Consequently it is not a surprise that ethical dilemmas occur daily in the health care setting. Any nurse who refuses to provide care for a patient faces an ethical dilemma (Kuhn, 2012, pp. 412-418). The reasons given for refusal range anywhere from a conflict of personal values to fear of personal risk of injury. Nurses do have the right, at times, to refuse patient care assignments. The decision to accept or reject an assignment must be based upon a judgment by the nurse of the nurse 's ability to provide competent patient care. This paper aims to show both sides of the argument when it comes to nurses refusing a patient assignment. One side believes that nurses has the right to refuse patient assignment, as they must be true to themselves if they want to perform their best on the job. On the other hand, the other side believes that it is the nurse’s responsibility to care for all patients and, therefore nurses cannot simply refuse a patient.

One of the most influential people during the emergence of HIV/AIDS was Ryan White. Ryan White was a hemophiliac who was infected with AIDS through having a contaminated blood treatment. When diagnosed, Ryan was only 13 years old and attending Western Middle School. Once the news got out about Ryan’s diagnosis, he was immediately banned from attending school. Faced with discrimination, Ryan White and his mom courageously fought AIDS-related discrimination and helped educate the Nation about his disease (Who Was Ryan White?). After years of advocating for victims of HIV/AIDS, Ryan White died in 1990. Shortly after his death, Congress passed the Ryan White CARE Act in honor of his courageous fight to educate people on HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this new act was to improve the quality and availability of care for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals and families affected by HIV (Ryan White CARE Act Celebrates 25th Anniversary, 2015). Under the Ryan White CARE Act are a number of parts (programs) that work with cities, states, and organizations to provide services to people living with HIV. According to the Human Resources and Services Administration, the parts under the Ryan White Care Act are:

Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) is a rural hospital that is located in east central Iowa (Grinnell Regional Medical Center, 2014a). GRMC is the largest hospital between two of the larger cities along interstate-80 (Grinnell Regional Medical Center, 2014a). This hospital has been around since 1919 and has grown throughout the years (Grinnell Regional Medical Center, 2014a). There are approximately 400 employees, 50 physicians and advanced practice practitioners, as well as 200 volunteers that take part in making GRMC what it is today (Grinnell Regional Medical Center, 2014a). GRMC is dedicated to “Health Care for Life” (Grinnell Regional Medical Center, 2014b) by providing:

According to Morrison E. And Furlong B. (2014), hospital ethics committee is one of the most important group that exist within a health care organization. Today, ethics committee are become more of use due to ongoing ethical conflicts. In addition, more health care organizations such as, hospitals, nursing homes facilities, and managed care are reaching out to this group for better assistance (Morrison E. & Furlong B. 2014). It is also understood that ethics committee serve major roles including, developing standards and policies, improve and promote education, and orchestrating clinical consultations. The underlying goals of traditional ethics committees are: to promote the rights of patients; to promote shared decision making between patients,

The role of the Ethics committee in maintaining and sustaining the four ethical and legal principles of health care vis-à-vis the ACA and its applications to the hospital.

When HIV/AIDS was first known in the United States, people who were affected were dying at a rapid rate as the disease was new to the medical community. There was no treatment and because of that the disease became highly publicized. At the time there were hatred for those who were considered gay. Those who came out and spoke openly about their HIV and AIDS were often being victimized. With the fear and homophobia from society, gay men and women took to the street to demand a government response to AIDS and were influenced to create a national movement.

Everyday, healthcare professionals are faced with ethical dilemmas in their workplace. These ethical dilemmas need to be addressed in order to provide the best care for the patient. Healthcare professionals have to weigh their own personal beliefs, professional beliefs, ethical understandings, and several other factors to decide what the best care for their patient might be. This is illustrated in Mrs. Smith’s case. Mrs. Smith is an 85 year old who has suffered from a large stroke that extends to both of her brains hemispheres which has left her unconscious. She only has some brain stem reflexes and requires a ventilator for support. She is unable to communicate how she wishes to proceed with her healthcare. Mrs. Smith’s children, Sara and Frank have different views regarding their mother’s plan of care. The decision that needs to be made is whether to prolong Mrs. Smith’s life, as Sara would like to do, or stop all treatments and care, as Frank feels his mother would want. In the healthcare field, there are situations similar to this case that happen daily where moral and ethical judgment is necessary to guide the decision that would be best for the patient. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss, compare and contrast the personal and professional values, ethical principles, and legal issues regarding Mrs. Smith’s quality of life and further plan of care.